Harry Kane is among this season's PFA Player of the Year award nominees

Tottenham striker Harry Kane is among the six players to have been nominated for the Barclays Premier League's PFA Player of the Year award.

Kane, who has scored 19 goals in the league already this season, is joined on the shortlist by Manchester United's David de Gea, Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho, Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez and Chelsea duo Diego Costa and Eden Hazard.

The list was voted for by players from 100 clubs from the Premier League, Football League and Women's Super League.

Kane's nomination caps a superb breakthrough season for the 21-year-old, who has scored 30 goals in all competitions for Spurs including a first Premier League hat-trick against Leicester last month.

The England forward is currently the Premier League's joint top scorer with Costa, who has enjoyed an excellent first season after moving to Chelsea from Atletico Madrid last summer.

The 26-year-old found the net seven times in his first four matches and, despite suffering from a recurring hamstring problem, has 20 goals in 35 appearances for the Blues, who are seven points clear at the top of the table.

Chelsea's charge towards the title also owes much to the form of Hazard, who Jose Mourinnho last week declared "by far the best player" in the league.

The Belgian winger, who won the PFA Young Player of the Year Award last year, has managed 12 goals and nine assists in the current campaign.

Hazard will have to fight off competition from Sanchez, who has lived up to high expectations after Arsenal paid around £35million to sign him last summer.

The talented Chilean has notched 14 goals and eight assists in his debut season in England, helping the Gunners to second in the table.

Fellow South American midfielder Coutinho is also nominated after a sparkling campaign for Liverpool while De Gea completes the list, having been rewarded for some superb performances in goal for Manchester United.

Coutinho, De Gea, Kane and Hazard are all named on the Young Player of the Year shortlist as well, along with Liverpool midfielder Raheem Sterling and Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

De Gea, who has kept 10 clean sheets in the league this season, said: "It's true that last season was good for me from a personal point of view, but I think that things are going even better for me this time around."

He added: "I think I'm competing better, performing well and I think my decision-making is a lot better this season.

"I'm happy and I'm trying to keep going in the same way and keep improving."

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